The Duet of Light and Shadow
by Razsa
Summary: In a far off land, a boy journeys to find someone close to him, uncovering secrets meant to be forgotten along the way. Based on Rin and Len's Synchronicity series though not exactly a direct retelling. Please read the author's notes.
1. His shadow beside him

**When I decided to start writing again, more specifically, when I said I was going to start again by writing for Vocaloid, I told myself I wouldn't do anything based on specific songs/PV's outside of mentioning them. I lied, obviously. The previous, however, was said before I watched Synchronicity. Anyway, welcome to the most ambitious piece of writing I've ever worked on outside of class requirements. What I want to do here represents a lot of firsts for me in terms of writing. Hell, this chapter alone does that too. Also, about 3/4 of the way through this I saw that someone else was also doing Synchronicity and it's quite good. So, sorry! I totally wasn't trying to copy your idea or anything! But anyway, I'm not big on long opening comments (end notes, however, are a different story.) So, I'll stop talking here and just say please please PLEASE read the end notes.  
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**EDIT: I may occasionally correct my own typos as I catch them (some of them are just a function of uploading to the site so sorry bout that.)  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the Vocaloid or any other trade marked characters within as they belong to their respective copyright holders. Synchronicity was made by many people and is a wonderful thing so you should give them all credit for it (and should be looked up on youtube.)  
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_A cave. The darkness of this place is palpable, it lays upon everything like an impenetrable shroud, a barrier discouraging all but those who are either brave of foolhardy to venture forth. A sickening earthy smell assaults my nostrils. The air here is stale, unmoving, and in a way, suffocating. The only sound present is the constant dripping of water echoing throughout. This ancient tunnel was not meant to be traversed by any man, yet here I am, pressing onward, fighting back both the dark and the terror that assaults me as I advance. _

_I am drawn forward by some unseen force within me. Some will to move on. Something in my mind is telling me that it is imperative that I keep going, keep putting one foot in front of the other. There is nothing more important to me than reaching the end of this dark path. I'm sure that any number of terrible pitfalls await me at each turn, hundreds of stony maws eagerly await a single misstep to devour me. As much as I expect it though, the fall never comes. My footing remains sure over pebble and boulder alike, around a maze of stalagmites and stalactites, their dagger-like outlines the only "decorations" to be found in this miserable place. Somehow I instinctively know a safe route through this never ending labyrinth. _

_I walk for hours it seems, though without the sky my sense of time is skewed. For all I know it has been days. Each step brings me closer toward whatever goal I seek, yet each step also fills me with a renewed sense of dread. There is something wrong about this place. It is as if the cave itself rejects my presence, it's walls casting their ill-will toward me, attempting to drive me away. Every inch brings with it a renewed fear within me. It is difficult to press on. Yet this burning will within me keeps my feet moving, despite my mind's rejection._

_Suddenly, there is a light. The darkness of the cavern is chased off by some far off illumination. The stone is bathed in a teal glow. It's sickly light forming twisted shadows upon the walls. There is no comfort in this unearthly illumination. After several more minutes of walking, I discover its source. A door lined by hundreds of runes, arranged such that they they form the image of the hilt of a sword. Several antiquated stone pillars and archways crumble around a pathway leading to the gate. A fresh wave of terror assaults me. 'Go back! Run! Flee from this awful place!' my mind screams yet my body presses on. My head begins to throb. There is something physically attacking me, some invisible force actively trying to kill me. It hurts. It hurts so much. The pain threatens to tear me to shreds, rending flesh from bone until naught but my skeleton is left heaped upon the cave floor. The ominous glow of the runes pulse with some arcane power. I must go back. I have to go back! Please let me go back! _

_Suddenly, it stops. The pain subsides as the dread within me gives way to serenity. I chance a look around, not remembering when I had ever closed my eyes. I have made it past the door and find myself in a much larger chamber beyond. Enormous stone pillars rise throughout, obscuring most of the room from view. There is light here. It two seems arcane in origin, however it does not fill me with a repulsion like the runes upon the gate. It reminds me of the moonlight, beautiful and pale. The walls here are crystalline and appear as ice in the false moonbeams, their surfaces sparkling. I stare in awe at my surroundings, completely absorbed by the beauty of it all._

_I wander through this crystalline cavern, stunned by my surroundings. I am snapped from my trance as my ears pick up on the strangest of sounds. A girl, her voice that of an angle, sings out, hear rapturous melody filling the chamber. 'Go to her' my mind tells me, and I obey without question._

_I find what I am looking for in the center of the room. A single, intense beam of light shines down onto this persons head. As I draw nearer, a certain peculiarity strikes me. A mirror? No, though the person standing before me could easily be mistaken for such at first glance. She is my spitting image applied to a feminine form. Her white dress floats around her. Her feet are bare. Around her neck a simple black amulet carved in the shape of a treble clef. I wonder if it is cold in this area. I cannot seem to feel a thing. Her golden hair shrouds her face. She feels familiar, safe, comfortable. I wonder, have I known this person before?_

_She pauses as I approach, her wondrous song dieing with an echo throughout the hall. Her shoulders shudder. The faintest of sobs catches my ear. _

"_Somebody..."_

_Who are you, mysterious girl? Why do you feel so familiar to me? I'm sure I have not seen you before._

"_Anyone..."_

_If only I knew who you were. There is something in the back of my mind nagging me. It is like I'm forgetting something dreadfully important._

"_Help me..."_

_I call out to her, yet the words die on my lips. There is something... something wrong about all of this this. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end._

"_Save me..."_

_Yes. I will save you! I will make sure to save you! If only I could recall your name! Please just let me remember your name!_

"_Save me!"_

_The cave shakes as my view is filled by a giant, yellow eye, its reptilian gaze freezing me in my tracks. What is this terrible being? It's ill will towards me is palpable. I am but a speck before it, as insignificant as the pebbles upon the floor. I am cast back into a deep darkness. As this the room, the girl, and their terrible guardian leave me, the void embraces me. A single, faint voice echos in the blackness._

"_Len..."_

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"Rin!"

In a small inn, situated quite far from anything that could really be called civilization, a boy awoke from a restless sleep with a cry. He shot up throwing the sheets from his body, eyes gazing wildly around searching for some unseen assailant. In his right hand clutching the hilt of a longsword, ready to draw at a moments notice. He sat there in perfect silence, casting threatening glares around the room until finally, upon deciding that he was not in any immediate danger, he came to the realization that he had not taken a single breath and relieved his screaming lungs. Panting, he wiped a cold sweat from his brow and shivered as a chill wind swept through the drafty room he currently inhabited.

To say that this was a boy is, perhaps, incorrect. He was much more a young man than a boy. His upper body was toned, showing physical fitness and general health, though the occasional bruise or scab indicated a rather rough lifestyle. His blond hair fell to his shoulders, bangs ending just above azure eyes. The eyes themselves, though focused and thoughtful, still showed the sparkle of innocence and inexperience which is lost with age. He had not grown to his full height just yet, though it was apparent that this event was not far off.

The young man, having re-gained his composer to a degree, cast a final, weary eye about his room before sighing and falling back against the headboard. Closing his eyes, he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, attempting to remove the uneasiness that had come with his violent awakening. Much to his displeasure, he discovered that his efforts were in vain. The words that marked his awakening still echoed in his mind. With an irritated huff he opened his eyes again and began peering through the dark, finally settling his eyes on this belongings sitting in the corner of the room. It was a small space, no more than a box with a bed and a space to store belongings. In the corner his clothing rested on top of a small satchel which contained everything he owned. Next to his bed a simple wooden scabbard held his longsword, a trusted weapon which had been at his side for the past year. The many pits and scratches along the blade bore testament to this fact.

Resigning himself to the fact that he probably wasn't getting any more sleep that night, the boy moved to sit on the side of his bed and gaze out the small window in his room. The waxing moon shone high in the night sky, casting a pale light on the surroundings. It was early morning. He needed to get moving. He had a long walk ahead of him still and he wanted to reach the next town before nightfall.

He stood and moved to his satchel. Taking his clothes he began dressing for the journey. He wore a white, sleeveless undershirt with matching pants. Over this he donned a black longboat with yellow embroidery and fur lining, slipping on black gloves as he did. Finally he reached down and tied his black boots with golden laces. He paused, and seemed to stiffen, reaching for the empty space around his neck. He seemed to panic as he realized there was nothing there. The boy quickly paced around the room, searching for something. He settled on the bed and tore into it ripping sheets apart in a desperate search. Finally, he found what he was looking for: an obsidian amulet, carved in the shape of a bass clef, tied with a simple loop leather string. He gazed at the object thoughtfully, recalling his dream, before placing it around his neck.

He began to fasten his scabbard around his waist when a noise froze him. There was a knocking coming from the front door of the inn, an odd occurrence for this early hour. Needless to say, he was suspicious. Pressing his ear against a crack in the door to his room, he listened as the knocking continued until eventually the voice of the elderly inn-keeper could be heard: "Alright, alright, I'm coming already," which was followed closely by the incoherent mutterings of an old man awoken far to early in the morning. The youth could hear the door to the inn creak open, "what do you want? We're full tonig- wait who do you... what's all this about then?" This was followed by what sounded like the door being forced open and the footsteps of several people entering the main room.

The boy could hear someone talking, a gruff male voice, but it was hushed enough so that he could not make out what was being said from his room on the second floor. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. There was no reason for an unsuspecting country inn to receive multiple visitors at this hour. Unless...

Amusing a much more cautious posture, the boy quickly crept to this small window, pausing only to make sure the floor would not creek under his feet. Peering out into the night, he found the surrounding woods to be illuminated by the orange glow of torchlight. He could make out several horses at the edge of the windows field of view though, limited as it was, he could not tell exactly how many. Further out stood two men, each armed with a short blade and light, leather armor. Each bore a very specific white emblem, an inverted sword hilt, one which immediately turned the boys blood to ice. _Shit_.

The boy ducked from the window, sinking down besides his pack. They had found him. _How did they find him?_ Surely he had been careful to cover his tracks. Was it possible that someone in the last village...? No, it couldn't be. Why were they _here_ of all places? He suddenly was aware of the fact that he was hyperventilating. Clutching his chest he attempted to calm himself. There would be time to think of this later. He had to get out. _Now!_

He clenched his fist against the fabric of his undershirt, catching the black carving around his neck in his grip. It gave him some comfort. Nodding to himself with resolve, and stood up. Hastily he grabbed the remainder of his belongings in the room and threw them into his satchel, pulling the draw-strings as he did. His mind raced to formulate some kind of plan. The window would be no good. There was no way to open it, and breaking it would alert everyone in the inn to his presence, especially the two outside which he could only assume were exterior guards just waiting for anyone to attempt to leave the premise. Even then it was a two story drop and he was not going to test the strength of his ankles against the hard ground below. He stood up, slinging the bag over his shoulder and checked that his sword was fastened to his waist before creeping over to the door and silently opened it, stepping out into the chilly exterior. There was a short stretch of hallway surrounded by other rooms followed by a railing which overlooked the central room of the inn. He now moved to situate himself next to this railing. If he was going to get out it would have to be through the main room and doing so would require a knowledge of what he was up against. His hand rested against the hilt of his blade.

As he got close to the railing he became aware of the fact that he could now clearly hear the conversation downstairs. He pressed his back against the wall next to the corner and strained his ears to listen. "-furthermore, if ye fancy yerself wantin' ta help the kid and we find out then the clergy 'll be happy ta take you in to, ahh, make you see the errors of your way. So I'll be askin' ya one more time, have ya seen this person?" The boy let out a slight sigh of relief. So they didn't actually know he was here, this was simply a random search. Furthermore, judging by the mans rough voice and choice of words, they didn't seem to be trained soldiers. Mercenaries maybe? Working up his courage he ventured a short glance around the corner. There were three men visible, each similarly armed to their companions outside. The one in front was currently brandishing a slip of paper at the innkeeper. The elderly man in question now spoke. "Oh yes, I remember now. Yes we have someone like that here. Though now that I think about it I don't remember where I put him up for the nig-" He was immediately cut off by the leader who shoved him aside. "Right, you," He indicated the grunt nearest to himself, "Watch the door. You two check up stairs, you come with me, we'll search the lower level. Remember what they said. This kid ain't a master but he'll be a tough fight if ya try to take him alone."

There were at least five of them inside the building along with the two outside. The boy guessed that there were probably no more then ten if this was just traveling band. That left a few outside still. Quickly attempting to come up with some kind of strategy, he darted back to his room, using the creak of the stairs as the men walked up them to mask the sound of his movements. He quietly shut the door behind him, lifted the covers, and stuffed his travelers pack under the sheets attempting to make it as convincingly human-like as possible before covering his make-shift dummy up. He positioned himself next the door so that it would swing in front of him, his back to the wall. Finally, he drew his sword, holding it at his side and waited, attempting to control his breathing so as not to make a sound.

_Click_. "Nohin' in 'ere" _Click, Aaaaagh! _"Eh heh, sorry lady. Not 'ere either." They were approaching quickly. From the sound of the voices, each had taken a side. Thanking his luck, the boy waited with baited breath. _Click. Click. Click._ Finally the noise of footsteps paused just outside his door. _This was it_.

The door was opened forcefully, stopping mere centimeters away from the boy's face. There stood the mercenary, he was burly looking, about a head taller than the boy. A faint smell of alcohol wafted into the room from his direction. The man looked around briefly before settling on the shape in the sheets of the bed. His face screwed up into something that would have been a smile if the man had more than a few teeth left. "Wakey wakey, sleepy head. C'mon, rise and shine Sleeping Beauty," He jeered. When the bag gave him no reply he smirked to himself, brandishing his short-blade as he advanced on the bed. "If ye don't come out I'm gonna hafta get a bit rough now."

Silently the boy watched from behind the door. He waited until his assailant had fully entered the room before quietly moving the door aside and approaching the man's exposed back. Quietly he raised the hilt of his sword, waiting for the opportunity to strike. The mercenary roughly grabbed the sheets and tore them aside, only to let out a small cry of shock at the sight before him. This cry, however, was lost in a muffled gasp as the boy kicked his knee out while drawing his forearm across the man's mouth. With all his might, the boy brought the hilt of his sword crashing down on the mans head in a terrible _coup de grace_, the impact resulting in a muffled _thud_.

The mercenary fell limp, landing soundlessly on the bed. _That's one_. "Ye find anything, Gato?" Came the rough voice of the fallen mercenary's companion, the boy immediately spun towards towards the door. placing both hands on his sword,. "Gato? _Gato!_ Jeeze ya lump, the hells'amatter wit ya? You been drinkin' again cause the boss in't gon-" The man paused as he turned the corner into the room. Uppon seeing the boy he drew back in surprise before giving a smile filled with only slightly more teeth than his comrade. "Now what is 'dis 'ere? I think I may just be gettin' payed extra tonight! Cem'ere boy! I won't hurt ya now!" He leaned back to yell "Oy, Bos-OOFH" Of course this was cut short as the butt of the boy's sword was driven into his gut. Exhaling sharply, the man's short sword clattered to the floor as he doubled over from the first strike. The back of his head now met a similar fate to his companion before him, however before he even had time to hear the floor, the leader could be heard calling from downstairs.

"Hey! The hell're you two doin' up there? You find him or didn't you? Oy! Answer me already!" This was followed by a short pause before before he barked "Dammit! Right, stay there, we'll go get him!"

Silently the boy cursed to himself. So much for remaining hidden. He picked up his bag before rushing from the room. Adrenaline coursed through him, there was a ringing of blood in his ears. He would have to fight his way out. In the hall he was greeted by two more attackers rushing up the stairs at him.

The one in front pointed him out shouting "Right, he's here, boys, lets get him!" Thankfully, the walk way from the stairs only allowed for the men to walk one abreast. The first man charged at the boy, letting out a thuggish roar as he did. Having little time to react the boy threw his bag at the attacker, dashing just behind it. The mercenary reacted in turn, slashing at the bag, tearing its fabric and sending the contents every which way. Utilizing this brief distraction the boy cleared the gap between them, bringing his own sword down for an overhead strike. The mercenary, now recovered from having a bag of food and clothing flung in his face, managed to bring his own blade up for a high block, allowing the boys sword to run the length of his blade, trapping it in the bend of the hilt. The boy was about to yank his weapon back but was too late to see the man grin as he brought his free right hand around, punching the boy in the jaw. The boy was slammed against the wall before falling back to the floor and was only just able to bring his sword up to block the downward cut that followed. Having little other choise, and barely being able to resist the constant pressure being placed against his sword, the boy brought his feet around, trapping the mercenary's knees. With a twist, he swept his attackers feet out from under him, sending him careening through the railing and into a table in the room below.

The second mercenary wasted no time in pressing the attack, giving the boy barely enough time to get to his feet before he was met with a flurry of blows. Deflecting attack after attack, the boy was finally able to successfully parry a thrust, deflecting it to the side and unbalancing the mercenary. The boy jumped backwards, hoping to open up some distance between him and his opponent, allowing him to use the reach advantage of his longer weapon. His plans, however, were abruptly ruined by a shout of "Hey!" behind him. The boy turned his head only to pale slightly at the sight of one of the larger men he _thought_ he had knocked out charged at him from behind. Turning back he saw the one in front of him also regain his composure and begin to advance in an equally rapid manner. Fearing his imminent doom, a single option presented itself to him, as unappealing as it was. _Jump!_

He jumped, leaping through the hole in the railing made by the first mercenary and landing squarely on the aforementioned mans stomach. His knees bucked from the fall as he rolled to his back on the floor, losing his grip on his sword in the process. His head spun from the impact as he tried to re-ascertain his position, only to focus on the rather large figure in-front of him bringing down a sword on top of his head. Quickly he rolled on his stomach to dodge the blow as he heard the loud _thunk_ of steel hitting wood next to him, the blade lodging itself in the floor. He spun on his back, bringing both his knees up to his chest before delivering a kick to his attackers wrist still gripping the blade. The man cried out in pain, ripping his sword out of the floor as he did. The boy scrambled to his feet and ran forward, feeling the breeze of a horizontal slash barely missing his back. He ran towards the small counter that served as a bar in the inn and dove over it, ducking below the counter to avoid any oncoming attack.

Nothing came, however, and as the boy once again tried to regain his bearings, his heart throbbing painfully in his chest. He heard a sickening laughter fill the room as the remaining men called out to him. "Come on out, kid. We won't hurt ya! Can't say the same about the people payin' us but we'll be nice! Promise!" Hidden behind the bar the boy's face contorted into a grimace, his teeth girting in frustration. Trapped. He had gotten careless, thinking it was safe to stay in an inn for once, how stupid could he have been? "Now come on boy. You gonna make us wait here all night? We got some candy for ya!"_ Shut up!_

"I gotta admit, kid. Ye did a number on us but I think the pointy things best be left to the grownups!" A chorus of harsh laughter from his companions. _Shut up shut up shut UP!_ No, it wasn't going to end like this. It couldn't end like this! He had things he needed to do. There was someone waiting for him, somewhere out there. _She needs me!_ He wasn't about to get done in by some damn thugs! In a rage he slammed his fist into the shelf beside him and was met with the clinking of glass. An idea suddenly hit him. Feeling around in the shelf his hand finally came to rest on a glass object.

The mercenary leader nodded to one of his men and they both began to approach the bar, swords drawn. "Alright, lad, if ye ain't gonna come quietly we're gonna hafta get a bit rough on ya. So... just make it easy on yers-Woah!" The boy suddenly stood up and hurled a bottle of spirits, the bottle just barely missing the man in front. It shattered somewhere on the floor behind him. "Ah hah ha, ye see that boys? He's gone to throwin' things at us now! Ye gonna throw a temper tantrum now kid, cos we don't have time for that now do we?"

"Uhh, boss?"

"So, since yer not old enough ta drink yet, why don't ya just come out before you break anythin' else? It's a waste of good drink I tell ya!"

"Oy, Boss!"

"What?" The man tuned ready to cuss his subordinate out for interrupting his taunts. His gruff face however soon adopted a look of horror as he viewed the scene behind him. The bottle had shattered next to the open fire-pit which served to warm the inn, it's volatile contents quickly igniting into a small inferno which was now rapidly spreading throughout the room. His horror was short lived, replaced by a the embrace of unconsciousness as a second bottle was shattered across his head.

The remaining mercenaries turned, advancing on their now exposed query, who, unarmed as he was, slowly backed away from them. The best the boy could do was put on his most determined face and brandish the shattered bottle in the most menacing way possible. His mind screamed in terror. They would catch him and he would be shipped off. Locked in a cell maybe, or executed, he didn't know. Why did he ever think staying here was a good idea? Throwing that bottle had seemed like a good idea at the time. Improvisation, while great in a pinch, really didn't allow one to think more than a few steps in advance. He had hoped the fire would provide more of a distraction but apparently the mercenaries were more concerned with getting paid than being trapped in a burning building. Of course, once improvisation is out the door in such desperate times, you're really only left with one other option: sheer blind luck.

You see, at that moment, the guests, having previously remained hidden in their rooms to avoid confrontation with the band of armed men, collectively began smelling the smoke from the fire. At the same time, the innkeeper, who had remained off to the side afraid to move, shouted "FIRE!" and, in turn, the guests panicked. They fled from their rooms carrying whatever belongings they could hold and ran headlong into the mercenaries, pushing them aside. The boy, recognizing a chance when he saw one, darted forward into the confusion. He weaved his way through the crowd, and managed to fish his sword out from under their feet before reaching the exit.

The mercenaries sent to guard the exterior had currently drawn their weapons and leveled them at the oncoming mob, shouting "Get back!" and "Stop! The lot of ya!" Deciding to avoid more violence if he could help it, the boy rushed to the head of the crowd. The guard in the center spotted this and attempted to slash at the boy, however he was too slow in bringing up his sword which was roughly pushed aside as the boy drove his shoulder into the mans stomach. The mercenary was knocked to the ground, gasping for breath and only had time to realize that the boy had run on before he was trampled by the human stampede.

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It was some time before the boy stopped running. He had reached a clearing on top of a hill as he slowed to a stop, the exhaustion of his ordeals finally catching up to him. He collapsed backwards into the damp grass, panting. He lay there for a long while, at first catching his breath, and then just staring into the quickly brightening sky. Eventually he sat up. In the distance he could see smoke still rising from the inn. A sickening reminder of his carelessness. "So, I suppose it's the ground from now on for me," He mused with a small smile. Suddenly a though crossed his mind. "The 27th," he muttered to no one in particular. "Four years since... Well, happy birthday, Len. Happy birthday... Happy birthday..." He trailed off as he grasped the amulet around his neck, turning it over in his hand. It felt warm in his grip, comforting. Removing the item he held it before him, silhouetted by the orange glow of morning. _She was waiting for him, somewhere out there. She needed him_.He stood, turning his back to the inn and set off toward the East. The rising sun casting a long shadow behind him.

"Happy birthday, Rin."

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_Without a certain destination I keep traveling East, my shadow is my only companion.

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**So, once again, I lied about the whole not doing PV based stuff so screw it I say. I'll do whatever comes to mind. As I said at the start, this chapter alone represents several firsts for me. These include my first time writing out a combat situation, first time writing a truly serious (or attempt at serious) piece, and the first time I've done a multiple chapter story thing that wasn't a bunch of one shots. It also happens to break my last pieces record as the longest single thing I've written (Insert me being annoyingly proud of myself here.)**

**A few notes on writing this here: First of all, the first thousand words took about five times longer to write than the last 4000 words. I am terrible at starting things. This one in particular gave me a lot of grief and I had a huge writers block with it which kind of spread out to everything I was trying to write. It also didn't help that that I had to re-write the first 1000 words three times due to various crap happening (If you look at my profile you'll see why.) So I pretty much did 1000 words in two weeks (Working a few hours every few nights) and then everything else in two nights. Upon looking at this on the site I realize that the paragraphs, being a tad long, end up somewhat blocky, sorry about that.  
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**Now that I have my general ramblings that no one cares about done with (lol using authors notes as my personal blog, am I cool yet guys?) I move on to the part that I want people to actually read. I am going to break another "I'm not gonna do this if I write" but this time with good reason. I am going to say "Please dear god review this." No, it has nothing to do with the fact that my last thing got one review (/slap myself, Stop it!) But I want to know peoples opinions. You see, there are several issues with what I'm doing here. The first is the fact that Synchronicity is only on part 2/3 and therefor, the story is incomplete. This however, is supplanted by the larger issue with me. I started writing this with a very rough idea of what I wanted to do with the plot. Since then I have filled a open office document with ideas, character discriptions, and plot outlines. Pretty much I know what I want to do with this story at least in terms of the main plot. However, upon doing all this, I actually read the "official" interpretation of the PV's (I'm not sure if they're actually official but I saw it in more than one place so...) Anyway, needless to say, my idea is somewhat different.**

**So, before I end up being WAAAAAY too TL:DR with this: I would be extremely grateful if people would let me know, hell, even through a PM if you don't want to review: What you thought (Is my writing solid? I've never written like this before.) and if you think I should just go ahead with my current idea (which I like better than the interpretation I saw because I'm egotistical like that) or try to just do an actual novelization or whatever. Thanks, I'll never ask for reviews again (though they're always nice.)**

**To end this extremely long and boring series of authors notes I will give my usual: Any glaring grammatical mistakes are my own fault so feel free to point them out to me so I can fix them now and in future attempts. Also, just because I find it interesting when people do this type of thing: Unlike last time, I didn't really listen to any song in particular Vocaloid or otherwise while writing this (Paradise of Light and Shadow notwithstanding) Though when doing my final checks I had Len's Shota Shota Fever Miracle Tonight on loop. Eurobeat is catchy dammit!  
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	2. Visions in the Night

**Oh hey, this thing again. Yeah, it isn't dead. Yeah, it's been over two months. More about that later. I have decided, against my better judgment, to make this story my own work "inspired" by the original. If that is a huge turn-off then run away. The plot follows the basic structure as presented by the PV's and you should, given my description is not off, recognize things from there, however anything not shown in the PV's is pretty much entirely my creation which means it will probably be worse than the original works. Either way, a name change is in order since there are like five other things titled "synchronicity" and I feel bad because of it.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the Vocaloid or any other trade marked characters within as they belong to their respective copyright holders. Synchronicity was made by many people and is a wonderful thing so you should give them all credit for it (and should be looked up on youtube.)**

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_There once was a time when we prayed to the Divines. The unseen, unknown powers who watched over us from above. We thought of them as our protectors. In return for our prayer, they would defend us from the evils that sought to destroy us with plague, famine, and disaster. We thought of them as our saviors. In time, reality awakened us to the error of this mentality._

_One fateful day many millennia ago the skies darkened as the East erupted in a pillar of flame and hot ash. From the fires of this cataclysm emerged a great wyrm. The Destroyer. The Shadow. The Beast. A dragon of immeasurable power and ferocity. It's scales were as dark as night. Its all seeing eyes gleamed with an acidic yellow tint. A single swipe of its claws would level cities. Whole countries would be swept away by the beating of its dark wings._

_No one quite knows where it came from though some say it was a product of all the hatred and malice humanity had accumulated over the years. Others say it was a punishment, a grand retaliation for our sins. No one quite knew, and most didn't care._

_For years the Beast's reign of terror continued. Every day life became marred with terror as people wondered if their village would be the next one to fall under that deadly, all-consuming shadow. The people would pray to the Divines, hoping for some sort of salvation against the Beast's onslaught. Yet these prayers went wholly unrequited. It seemed as if, in our darkest time, the gods has abandoned us._

_The people were filled with a blind rage. In their fury they turned upon the Divines smashing altars, burning churches, and throwing the priesthood to the streets. Death, destruction, sadness, despair: the Beast fed upon these things, growing stronger as the land sunk deeper and deeper into an irreversible dark age._

_All was lost. Or so it seemed._

_In this darkest time a faint glimmer of hope came to life. A maiden clad in white emerged from parts unknown and stood against the Beast. She did not fight with a blade or armor. Instead she approached the Beast with song. A beautiful melody of peace, love, and all the good things of this world. It flitted across the land filling the people with a sense of serenity they had not known for years. She sang for days on end. Slowly the small spark of hope that she had planted in the souls of the people began to grow._

_The Beast's absolute grip upon the land began to wane as the fires of hope were reignited within humanity..._

_

* * *

_

Then as quickly as she came, the mysterious Diva of Light disappeared, bringing the Beast with her. As the people began rebuilding their lives, turned to a new source of spirituality. Having cast out the Divines as their saviors, they now looked toward the Diva: a sign of hope and goodness in the world. She was the one who had protected them where the Divines had failed.

We have all heard this story. It is forced down our throats practically from birth. Our parents, elders, teachers, and leaders all recite it to us, showing how much we should be thankful for the great Diva and the peace she restored to the world. And it's all propagated by a single organization.

Some time after the Diva's disappearance from the world, the Clergy came into existence. Its members preached of the wondrous Diva and the peace she brought about. In addition to this, they also carried a trump card. They claimed that the Beast still lived and would once again rise were it not for their actions. The Clergy, in all of their wisdom, had the ability to detect something no one else could.

The Clergy claims that when the Diva of Light sacrificed herself to rid us of the beast, her pure soul was left behind and spread amongst the people. Every so often, it will manifest itself in a girl who would become the next Diva and continue to protect us from the Beast's return.

Our ancestors gathered around the Clergy, for they seemed to offer the only connection to the one who saved us all. They, along with the noble families which for the backbone of our government, were the first organizations to rise from the ashes and fill the void left by the anarchy the Beast had caused. The royal families took on the mantle of governing the people while the Clergy became the religious center of the land.

I don't know about the "Darkness born of hatred and malice" or anything like that. As far as I'm concerned, it's all a lie. You see, the Diva story has a special place in my heart. Where it leaves off, another story begins.

My story.

My name is Len Kagamine, sixteen as of a few hours ago, and sworn enemy of the Clergy.

For as long as I can remember, there has been a part of me missing. They say soldiers who've lost an arm or leg in combat can still feel a phantom of the missing limb. I think what I felt was something like that. There was always a profound emptiness, a tiny void that ate away at me. It wasn't until recently that I understood this emptiness and what it meant.

Far to the West of the capital, Terin, past many rivers, forests, and mountains, lies my home village. A small town, it was home to maybe a thousand. The village sat on the edge of a sizable forest which, save for a single road, isolated us from the rest of the world. The place was defined by small, houses each just big enough to fit a family. Most buildings were simple wooden frames with stone sides and roofs comprised of either thatch or clay shingles.

The majority of the people living in my village were farmers. They would be up before the sun rose tending to their fields, praying to the Diva that their crops would sell well that year. Other people took up various other trades from guardsmen to bakers. It was a quiet, relatively uneventful village. A good place to grow up in obscurity.

I was raised alone by my mother. She was a gentle woman with long, blond hair and eyes as blue as the sky. Her face was warm and inviting yet I would often get the impression that her warmth was an attempt at masking some deeper, darker feeling. Often times I would find her distractedly looking out the window for extended periods of time only for her to turn and greet me with her smile when she noticed that I was in the room.

My childhood was wholly unremarkable. Every day I would go to school like the other kids. We would listen to the stories our Elders told us which would often be a recitation of the Diva legend. The boys would wonder at the cold steel of the guardsmen or any visiting soldiers. A peaceful, uneventful childhood.

The dreams began on the night of my twelfth birthday. Fragments: that was all they were at first. Brief glimpses of a cave or a darkened chamber. They were merely phantoms passing in the night. These scenes came to me infrequently at first. Often times they would be interlaced with other dreams. In fact, the only reason I was able to connect these scenes together was due to a small, unnatural twinge that tickled my mind when they appeared. I did not yet understand their significance. How could I have?

It was about this point in my life when I fist picked up a sword. A small village such as mine had a somewhat limited selection of potential professions for a boy of reasonable health such as myself. Like everyone else my age, I had stupid dreams of growing up, joining the army, and going on adventures which would take me across the world. We clung to these hopes, as stupid as they were, since the alternative was spending the rest of our lives doing manual labor to eek out a living.

My mother supported me in this endeavor though I think she also realized they were just childhood dreams: a phase which every young boy goes through. She worked as a housekeeper for some of the wealthier members of our village and even spent some extra money to buy me a wooden training sword.

I would sometimes bother some of the towns guardsmen or the local militia for free lessons in swordplay. A few times a week after school I would head off to the barracks to practice parries and thrust. Even if there was no one to train me I enjoyed just being around the men and watching them run drills. My free time, when not spent with friends, was used in my yard waving around that wooden sword. I did occasionally receive compliments from the men who taught me. They would say I was quick learner and seemed to be a natural at the longsword.

The dreams continued. For a year they nagged at me, and for a year I could not make any sense of what I was seeing. Each instance of the dream began to change something. The cave became clearer; the images less disjointed. Though I always found the cave to be unsettling, I took some solace in the familiarity of the dreams. I felt as if I would have been lost without them.

What started as brief, infrequent fragments connected only by a feeling began to change. Soon I found myself wandering the caverns on a weekly basis. I came to learn the basic layout of the tunnels by heart. The dripping walls became a kind of sanctuary for my thoughts.

Being young as I was, I figured that the dreams contained no deeper meaning and that they would pass eventually. This was propagated by my mother who, upon being told of my nightly trips, dismissed them with a wave her hand saying it was just a phase. I didn't realize it then, but after that she always seemed to hover over me more, checking on me and such.

Eventually the dreams took on a pattern. I would begin by walking through the cave for an unknowable amount of time. As I walked the cave would grow deeper and darker yet I would resolve to push through the darkness. It felt like I was being passively pulled along by something.

Every time I experienced these dreams they would end at the same point. Eventually, as I wandered through the cave, I would see a light in the distance. The light was a sort of light blue or teal in color. It didn't seem natural. Cautiously, I would approach this illumination, unsure of what it is that I would find this deep in the cave. I was always filled with dread as I approached, yet I knew somewhere in my heart that I had to continue. The light was just around the next bend...

I would awake with a start, my head throbbing.

Our village was located near the outskirts of settled territory. A half hour's walk out of the village would reveal the thick forest that marked the division between the civilized world and the the savage, unsettled lands beyond. Being so far from the central bastions of civilization as we were, we rarely saw any signs of the government or indeed the Clergy. Despite this, the people of my village were not immune to the spiritual fervor that the Clergy had sown across the land for millenia. The rare occasions when a priest did show up to spread the faith were marked by a lot of fanfare.

They would always ride in on their horses, flanked on all sides by heavily armed and armored guards. Each member of the entourage would proudly display an insignia: two ornate sword hilts opposite of one another. The golden embroidery of the priest's robes would shine in the afternoon sun and the people would spill out of their houses onto the streets, hoping to receive the Diva's blessing.

The children would line the main road, staring up in awe at these men with their sparkling armor and elegant horses. Yet, when such an event occurred, there was always at least one person missing. I would be stuck at home, told stay indoors by my mother who would fall into the strangest mood when members of the Clergy came to the village. She would gaze out the windows at the precession. The expression she wore at these times was hard to classify. It seemed sad, angry, worried, and a whole slew of other things.

In general, my mother seemed to be set far apart from the masses when it came to the Clergy. She would outright refuse to attend any sort of religious function and would often become testy when the subject of the Clergy was brought up in conversation. There were a few occasions where I did question my mother on her reaction to the Clergy. Her answers to my inquiries were short, to the point, and about as nondescript as could be. She would simply say that she didn't believe in any of the "Diva nonsense" and that was that.

The dreams continued. The nighttime sojourns in the cave would always end at the glowing room. I couldn't make out the details of this room for the longest time, for the second I came near it I would be assaulted by the worst pain imaginable. It unrelentingly tore at my mind, clouding my perception and forced me back out of my dream to face a startled awakening.

Despite my previous assertion that the dreams were meaningless, my mind would not let this room go. I would, upon waking up from the dream, sit in my bed pondering the chamber. It felt important me somehow. I knew it was a stupid, childish fixation, yet...

I could never put my finger on just _what_ it was that had been taken from me. I _felt_ that I was missing something, I _felt _empty somehow, but the feelings were always detached from reality. There was no event or thing to which I could attribute this emptiness. As I grew, this feeling was pushed to the back of my mind: dismissed as nothing, a phase maybe. However, at that point, a completely unrelated event, a stupid, reoccurring dream, awoke this latent feeling. I could not remove the thought from my head that this dream and the incompleteness I had been feeling all my life were tied together. Somehow, the dream held the answer.

* * *

I awoke again, my head pounding. Another night, another unsuccessful attempt to breach the gate. I lay for a moment taking in my surroundings, the disorientation of my forceful awakening slowly fading. I had been having this same dream for years yet still its effects on me were as strong as ever. In fact, they seemed to have grown worse now that I had attempted to cross that damn chamber.

The dreams came nightly now. In the years since they first haunted my sleep they had been slowly but surely developing. The room filled with light had slowly revealed itself to be a much larger chamber within the cave. At the end was a stone gate or door of some kind. Each night I would try to approach this doorway but as soon as I would step forward I would immediately be assaulted by the same force that had prevented me from seeing the room at all for so long. Needless to say, its effect was only amplified this close to its apparent source and I would be violently shaken from my dream.

Sighing, I lifted myself to a sitting position and rested my head in the palms of my hands, futilely attempting to relieve some of the pain. The sun had already come up for the day and a particularly bright light was emanating from my window. It did nothing to ease the dull throbbing in my head, reminding me all to much of the blistering light shed in that chamber.

Opening my eyes, however, caused me to instantly forget all of this as I discovered the source of the added brightness: snow. The night had brought with it a blanket of white coating everything in its purity. Yes, I admit, I was probably too old to be _that_ excited by the snow, being a teenager at that point, but I have honestly yet to met anyone who isn't cheered up at least a little bit by the sight of fresh snow.

I quickly rose from my bed, moving to the window to gaze at the outside world. The village was a different place after the snowfall, quieter and more beautiful. "You know, it looked something like this fifteen years ago too." I turned, there in the doorway was my mother, leaning against the frame, a smile crossing her face. "Of course, back then you were a bit smaller. To think, my little boy now looks like an adult."

"Oh come on. You're embarrassing me." despite my best efforts to put a serious "grown up" face I couldn't help but smile at the coddling.

"What? A mother isn't allowed to embarrass her little boy on his own birthday?" The realization hit me suddenly. Of course, it was the 27th. "Now get dressed, I've got something for you."

My birthdays were never met with a large party or anything of the sort. We could never afford such things. However, my mother would always try to save up some money to buy my a gift of some sort. I was the only family she had left in the world and so I think she tried her best to make sure I was happy growing up.

I got dressed as soon as she had left the room and rushed out of my bedroom into the central chamber of our house which acted as lobby, living room, and kitchen all in one. My mother stood there, a sly smile on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her back, hiding some object from my sight.

"I've been thinking for a while about this, and I've decided the time is right. You're fifteen, at your age a lot of boys head out into the working world, and considering your interests..." She brought her hands around to her front, revealing a simple leather scabbard which contained an aged sword. After a short pause she spoke again: "Your father's. He left it here before... well. I think the time is right for you to have it. Happy birthday, my little warrior."

It was an ugly piece of metal to be sure. As I silently took it from my mothers hands and drew the blade, I noted the various pits and imperfections that marred the edge. The hilt was a simple extension of the steel with faded gold plating. The crossguard extended and bent away from the handle which consisted of a steel tang wrapped tightly with white leather. The scabbard itself was unremarkable save for the small golden ornamentation present at both the top and bottom. It was attached to a loose black and yellow belt. Despite its flaws it was somehow perfect.

I never knew my father though I'm told he was a soldier who met my mother shortly before joining the army. They say that he fought in the war against the Norther Rebellion some years ago. He was not there for my birth and was killed in combat shortly thereafter. I never really felt any sort of connection to him, having never seen so much as an image of the man in my life. Everyone says I take after my mother in looks anyway.

"Len? Don't you have something to say?" My mothers inquiry snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Y-yeah! Thanks, mom!" Really, I was taken aback. "I'm going to go practice right now!" And with that I merrily grabbed the weapon and donned my coat (another gift from a previous birthday.) I ran outside only to be momentarily blinded by the bright winter sun and the glare from the new snow.

For a long while I toyed with my prize, practicing slashes, parries, and footwork, all while admiring the thought of wielding an actual longsword for the first time in my life. The weight took some getting used to, though I had had the opportunity to hold some guardsman's swords in the past they never really let me practice with them. It felt so much better than the wooden training swords I had been using up until then.

My practice continued late into the afternoon where I found myself pausing in my exercises to catch my breath. I placed the tip of the sword on the ground and leaned against it, panting as I did. For a moment I stood there, taking in my surroundings; the sounds of my village in the afternoon relaxing me. I briefly forgot about it all: the dream, the chamber, the light, all of it.

I was shaken from my moment of peace by the blaring of horns in the distance. I strained to listen to the noise and soon picked up on the sound of horses approaching. A caravan of some kind with a trumpeted fanfare signaling the approach of whoever was rich enough to pay for it.

My village burst to life as people began rushing about. It was not every day that "important" people visited our village, as such, many of the citizens were excited. Soon a crowd began to form along the main thoroughfare with people jostling for a position near the front of the throng.

For a minute I stared at the growing congregation before a boy I knew from class waved me down as he ran along with some other kids. "Hurry up, Len! Your head lost in the clouds or something? Some big-shot priest or something's come along. Must be pretty important cos he's got some Daevic guards along with him." The Daevic guards: The elite soldiers hand chosen by the high priest or priestess themselves. They were the personal guard of all high-ranking members of the Clergy. Needless to say, I was excited to join my peers in watching the spectacle.

Quickly, I sheathed my new sword and turned to run off to the main road when my mothers voice caught me. "Len, come inside! You really shouldn't be running off!" I turned to see her standing in the doorway, her face stricken with concern. Of course, being a teenager in the prime of my life I felt inclined to disobey her.

"I'll be fine, mom. I'm just gonna go watch them come into town that's all."

"But, it's not-"

"It'll be fine! I promise! I'll be right back." and with that I turned and ran off, leaving my mother behind. If she made any further attempt to call me back, it was lost in the growing noises of excitement coming from the gathering villagers.

I caught up to the group and, thanking whatever powers that be for the "blessing" of a somewhat slender frame, squeezed through to the front of the mob. The entire village was out in force, lining the street while making sure to leave a wide breadth for the oncoming group. The crowd buzzed with excitement awaiting their first gimps of the visitors. For a long while we stared of into the distance with only the faint sound of hooves or the occasional blare of horns to mark their approach.

After several minutes, the crowd seemed ready to jump at the slightest provocation: their excitement palpable in the cold winter air. Suddenly, someone shouted "Look!" and we all focused our gaze on the lip of the hill that bordered our home. There on the crest appeared a horse, white as the snow around it. It was soon followed by other similar mounts in a procession of six.

As they approached the details of their appearance become more apparent. In the center of the formation was the priest himself. An elderly looking man dressed in long gray and black robes which trailed off the side of his steed, nearly brushing the ground as it passed. His apparel drew stark contrast to his surroundings. In his hand, a staff of white. The head piece was carved into the symbol of the Clergy.

For people my age, however, the main attraction was not with this preachy old man. No, our eyes were fixed on those around him. Flanking their charge on all sides, the Daevic guards formed a barrier of iron and steel. Their white armor gleamed in the winter sun and, from atop their horses, they appeared as giants to us. These were the elite of the elite, the personal guardians of the Clergy: the steel-clad hand that enacted its will.

It was truly a sight to behold. A grand show to impress the rabble; to instill the sense of power and awe that was so important to the Clergy's rule. Even at that moment, as bedazzled as I was by the knights in shining armor, a small part of my mind, likely the part which had received the brunt of my mother's influence, warned me off being falsely impressed by the display.

The group slowly moved to the center of town where they were greeted by the local elders and village leaders who seemed insistent upon bowing so low to the ground that their hair trailed across the snow. Meanwhile, the Daevic guards stood watch, the emotionless metallic expressions of their helmets judging each of us.

Finally, after much fussing, the priest turned to address the masses. He spoke of the blessings that the holy Diva had given us and how, to this day, her descendants continue to protect us from the return of the beast. No one really bought into theses teachings until later in life. The youth of the group were still focused on the priest's escort.

"...And it is imperative that we of the Clergy continue our search for the continuation of the Diva's line so that we may all maintain this era of peace." For some reason, the hair on the back of my neck stood on-end as he said this. At this point I, like some others before me, turned to leave. As I began to walk back towards my home, I couldn't help but notice that the passing horses had churned the pristine, snowy ground into a dark muddy mess as they passed.

My house was surprisingly silent. My mother was not there to greet me as I entered. "Mom...?" I called softly as I entered the main room, I was met by more silence. Slowly I entered and cast an eye about the room.

A noise came from my room. Quietly I approached and pressed my ear to the closed door. Through it, I picked up on the muffled sobs of my mother crying.

My instinct as a son was to immediately rush in and comfort her, yet something in my head told me that it would be best if I let her be. Instead I silently opened the door, just a crack, and peered in. There she sat on the edge of my bed hunched over. Her hair hung over her face. Occasionally her shoulders would heave in a stifled sob. She seemed to stare intently at something she grasped in her hand. For a while, I watched her turn it over in her palm before letting it drop as she grasped it by the string it was tied to. There hung a small obsidian carving.

* * *

I grit my teeth. It was all connected, I could feel it. My mother's tears, the void inside of me, these dreams. Something told me that the truth was just beyond the gate. With this new-found resolve flooding my mind I took a step forward into my dreams as the chamber with it's blinding light, the thing that had been haunting me for years now, once again materialized around me. A thousand pins and needles danced across my skin as I approached the chamber. The force that had assaulted me in my dreams night after night returned.

It was the night after my Birthday and the first time I actively approached the dream. Seeing my mother in such a state had stirred in me the resolve to see the dream through, regardless of the pain it brought. This time everything felt far more lucid, as if it weren't a dream at all.

Another step. The light intensified around me as it had time after time before now. I was slammed by a wave of energy, its arcane force nearly doubling me over, forcing the air from my lungs. Briefly my advance was staggered, though not halted. I couldn't stop, couldn't go back.

Another step, and another, and another, and another. My head began to throb. Wave upon wave of nausea swept over me, sapping my strength. Surely it couldn't be far now... could it?

Another step. _Go back! It's alright. You'll wake up safe and sound in your bed and this will all be over. Why are you, a mere child, submitting yourself to this?_ My mind battled itself, terror fought my will to go on as I became lost in a haze of blinding pain.

"_A quiet life. A simple existence. Hopes. Dreams. Ambitions. A loving mother. Some would say your life is perfect. Yet you continue, blindly throwing yourself into the unknown. What you find beyond here will destroy you. It will destroy everything. You know this, don't you? In the back of your mind, you've always felt it, haven't you, Len?" _The voice in my head began to change, distort. It began to take on a feminine note. Was there someone else in the chamber?

"_You've always felt that there was something more to you, some integral piece missing. A shadow who's lost the light that cast it. Yet it was always exactly that: a feeling. A small itch in the back of your mind. You'd go though so much effort – so much pain – just for this abstract feeling of loss. You know in your heart that this is not what you want. So go back, run to the safety and security of your life."_

What was I doing? I didn't want this! Torturing myself within my dreams all because of a stupid gut feeling?

"_A silly little fool, blundering about in the dark, blinded by powers he cannot hope to comprehend."_

The voice continued to taunt me, it's venomous words slowly seeped into my mind, poisoning my thoughts, turning them against me. I fell to my knees, hands clasped over my head in a meek effort to defend myself from the onslaught of energy. Why was I torturing myself in these nightmares? I just have to go back, don't I? Yes, I'll go back and my life will continue. I'd be happy with my mother and my village. The pain isn't worth it. I just need to wake up. Wake up. WAKE U-

It was here, the decisive point in my journey, I was saved. As the black tendrils of despair threatened to envelop me completely and my mind slipped back into darkness; as the pain became so great that death seemed like a pleasant alternative, a single, musical note penetrated my mind. This note was followed by more and more, which in turn formed a simple, soothing melody.

Singing: a voice more beautiful than I had ever heard in my life floated through the chamber, above the ringing in my ears and the roar of magic that existed throughout. Above all, it drowned out the mysterious voice and its damning words. Slowly, I felt myself coming back. The pain seemed somewhat lessened and my strength began to return. I gathered the will to stand.

The song acted as a beacon. Though I was blinded by the searing light of the place, the song continued guiding me forward, encouraging me to take the next step: to keep pushing myself inch by inch. As I neared the door I hesitantly opened up my eyes, gazing above me at the rune etched above it. A part of my heart sank at the sight, and yet what I saw did not surprise me. Emblazoned upon the rock was a far too familiar emblem. .

Before I took my final step, leading me through the gate, something caught my eye. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw someone: a woman with teal hair staring at me from the side, yet when I turned there was nothing.

The song guided me through the gate and I immediately found myself transported into a new location. This grand chamber with its crystalline walls only served to sooth me more. I gazed around at the room until my eyes fell on the thing, or should I say, person responsible for the beautiful song. There stood a girl, her blond, shoulder length hair held to the side with a clip. She was adorned in a white dress.

Were it not for her hair, I would have sworn I was being fooled by a reflection in the crystal walls. Her face, and really, most everything about her, looked just like me. She stopped singing, opened her eyes and looked at me with a smile.

Her eyes. They seemed tired, lost and at the same time, hopeful. Bruises adorned her arms and I thought I could see traces of dried blood just under her hair. She had been attacked.

Somehow, though we have never met, I felt as if I had known this girl my entire life. The sight of her gave me a sense of familiarity, of warmness. She was someone I held dear, someone I needed to protect. My eyes turned yet again to her wounds. Seeing her in such a state sparked a small fire of vengeance within me.

Suddenly a memory came rushing back to me: a name. I had heard my mother whisper the name more than once when she thought no one was around though I had never questioned her on it. This was it. For the fist time in my life, I could not feel any emptiness. This was the reason I had been having these dreams: they were showing me my purpose. I needed to see her. I needed to help her. I needed to find...

"...Rin."

* * *

**Let me tell you a story, . It is about a fanfic and the terrible author who wrote it. You see, the reason this took two months is because *drumroll* I procrastinated!**

**Okay, that isn't actually entirely true. Procrastination accounts for about 1/3 of the time it took to produce this. Another 1/3 is a far more legit reason. The problem with writing a full on story by publishing one chapter at a time is that you are much more likely to write yourself into a corner. As such, I pretty much started writing this, realized I didn't know what the hell I was going to do both in this chapter and for the rest of the story, and spent weeks thinking about it. The bad news is that it took forever. The good news is that I now have more ideas for later (including an idea for an entire sub-arc that will happen near the end) and I pretty much know how the plot is going to play out. The remaining 1/3 was actually spent writing. I am a terribly slow writer who is easily distracted so... yeah.**

**There is more good news: this is part one of chapter 2. The original document is around 9k words in length which I thought was too long to put on one page so I broke it up into two parts. The second part isn't exactly done but I should be finished by next week at the latest so look forward to that.**

**To the reviewers: thanks. To yams are delicious: way to make me feel terrible and not want to write because of that... I kid, I kid. Seriously though, thanks for pointing all that stuff out. I'll fix it soon. (Though, because I suck like that, I probably made some of the same mistakes here. Sorry!) I did try to break up the paragraphs more so there shouldn't be as much eye-rape here. Anyway, thanks again and thanks for reading for anyone else. Your page views fuel my ego.  
**


	3. A Journey Begins

**So yeah, it's been a while.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the Vocaloid or any other trade marked characters within as they belong to their respective copyright holders. Synchronicity was made by many people and is a wonderful thing so you should give them all credit for it (and should be looked up on youtube.)**

* * *

"Who is she?"

"Who is who, Len?" My mother spared me a quizzical look over the top of the book she had been reading. I probably seemed strange bursting out of my room with such a demand in the morning, however, despite her look I was not faltered in my pursuit of the truth.

"Rin!"

The room fell silent save for the rustling of wind outside At the mention of the name she seemed visibly stricken. The color started to drain from her face. For a single, weighted moment we looked at each other. Her voice took on a defensive tone.

"I-I'm not sure what you me-"

"I saw her!" I cut her off. My chest heaved as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I had not been able to contain the excitement welling up in my chest since I woke up. "She's the one – the one I've been... My dreams! She was there... somewhere! In a cave! And the Clergy... and, and..." The words poured out of my mouth in a manner that reflected my mind at the time: a mess. My excitement was preventing me from properly expressing myself.

As I rambled on my mother just sat there and looked at me as I paced about the room gesturing wildly. She seemed to be lost in thought as I continued my verbal assault. Her eyes began to tear up. "Len..." she muttered finally, a noticeable wobble of grief colored her voice.

"...and her voice. She sang - and it saved me! And-"

"Len!" It was her turn to cut me off. I stopped my pacing and turned to her. Immediately I noticed the tears streaming down her face. Guilt swept over me as I realized my excitement had upset her. Quickly I went to her and knelt beside her chair, looking up at her expectantly. There as a brief pause as my mother collected herself.

"She was... Rin is... your sister. Your _twin_ sister."

The world froze as a thousand little puzzle pieces began to form together in my mind. _I had a twin?_ A deluge of thoughts ran through my mind yet I couldn't find anything to say. _Why wasn't I told? What happened to her? Why did I see her in my dreams?_ The questions all died before reaching my lips. I probably just sat there looking at her, mouth agape.

My mother must have read the utter loss on my face as she heaved a sigh. "I guess it was inevitable. They say no matter how much you hide from the truth it will eventually find you." Her voice held a note of false humor. "I think I've always realized, somewhere inside me, that I would have this conversation with you one day."

"You... but why? Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, my face re-gaining the fire it had held just moments ago. The question was out before I had time to consider how to say it. My mother, feeling the force of my inquiry, turned away from me and fell silent. For a long time she remained unmoving, just staring at the wall. I was about apologize when she started talking again.

"We used to live in a much smaller village than this, your father and I that is. Maybe a hundred people total. We were happy for a long time, but then the call of war ushered him off to some far off land leaving me alone. I discovered I was pregnant not but a week after he had left. It was the second happiest day of my life."

"The two of you were born on a day much like yesterday. It was sunny and a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. The beauty of it was second only to the blessing I received that day. Rin came first, but you weren't far behind. Two beautiful children. Twins. Wisps of blond hair, eyes as blue as the sky above. Two round faces gazing up at me. An absolute dream come true."

"You know, in those first few days I could already tell what type of people you would grow up to be. Rin was full of energy, always moving around. Yet she was also the one to cry the most. You, on the other hand, remained quite silent most of the time. If Rin was crying next to you, you seemed to try and comfort her by reaching your little hand out to her..." She trailed off, lost in her happy memories. For a moment she seemed to forget the pain of reliving these memories; yet it was only just a moment.

"They came a week later. A man in white and black robes, marked by the symbol of the Clergy. He was flanked on all sides by Daevic guards. They forced themselves in once I opened the door and went immediately for the bedroom where the two of you slept." Another pause. My mother seemed to be steeling herself against the memories.

"They... they took her. They said that she was to become the next successor to the Diva of Light and that she would be hailed throughout the land as a savior. They took her: whisked her off somewhere far away from me. From us. They took my child... my baby..." Her voice trembled again as long repressed memories resurfaced. It took all her effort to continue.

"I tried to resist them, but two of the guards held me back as the priest assured me that Rin would be fine. Yes, fine, separated from her family and toted off to become some sort of symbol for their damn cult. I fought with all my might but I couldn't do anything against the guards as I watched them carry her out, crying, into the cold winter morning. Eventually one of them hit me with his gauntlet to silence me. Then, as quickly as they came, the men were gone; riding off into the world with Rin in tow. I was left, trembling on the floor, to wallow in my sorrow."

"I sat there for a long time, unsure of what to do, until finally I heard crying coming from the next room. There you were, laying on the bed, crying as hard as your little lungs could manage. Two souls, a mother and child, crying 'till their eyes were red for completely different reasons. I couldn't face that place anymore, so we left without warning and without a single 'goodbye' to anyone that knew us. I moved us here, away from that all, and as far away from the Clergy as I could afford to go..."

I was already out the door, my sword cliched tightly in my hand before the final word of my mothers tale. "Len!" my mother called after me hearing the door slam. "Len! Come back!" Her words fell on deaf ears. At that moment, the Divines, the Clergy, or whatever other powers were out there couldn't stop me.

For as long as I can remember, there has been a part of me missing. I piece of me -of my soul- torn away from me, leaving a anguished void its place. This piece had a name: Rin.

They had taken her, locked her away in a cave in some far corner of the world. _They had hurt her!_ The sight of her battered body burned fresh in my mind. I now realized the purpose of these dreams. She was calling to me! She needed me! My sister! The piece that had so long been missing from my heart! They took Rin from me!

Vengeance. That was the singular thought that coursed through my mind. The ones responsible needed to be punished. The Clergy would pay.

My heart pounded in my chest as blood rang loudly in my ears. My world became a sea of red as I trudged through the snow toward the building resting on the edge of town. This structure, used as a common home for visitors of importance when the local Inn wouldn't do, currently housed the focus of my rage: the priest of the Clergy. My knuckles whitened as I tightened my death grip on the hilt of my blade.

Two of the Daevic guards stood watch outside the front door. Their armor made them seem intimidatingly huge though I was not deterred by the sight. At the time, I thought to charge right in, draw steel, and attack the lot of them. The seething rage within me fueled this suicidal ploy.

I marched forward, close and closer to my target, white snow crunching underneath my feet. My breath quickened as adrenaline took hold of me. They were just meters away now. A quick, surprise attack. That would be my best shot. Beneath my coat my sword slowly emerged from its resting place with a glint of cold steel.

It's likely I would have died that day had it not been for a hand grabbing me and turning me aside. "Whoa there, Len, where do you think you're going?" For a moment, the bloody haze that filled my mind shattered. The face of a local farmer came into focus. "The line for the priest's blessing starts over there." The man pointed me toward a rather long line of people that snaked back toward the village. "You feeling alright? You looked hellbent on something. I'm sure the priest will have time to see all of us."

In that brief moment where I was again exposed to reality, I realized how stupid I was being. Though the thirst for revenge still held its grip on my mind, I was now able to see that I needed some sort of plan. With a noncommittal "Yeah... thanks." I waved the man off and wandered toward the back of the line.

Slowly some semblance of a strategy formed in my mind. Initially I thought to wait my turn in line and then attack once inside, however, I realized that the remaining Daevic guards were likely with the priest. Additionally, there was no way the ones in front would let me pass armed as I was.

I remembered, however, that the guest house had a side room which served as living quarters. This room had a back door. As a child, me and the other boys from the village would sometimes sneak in to look through some of the more interesting visitor's belongings. We thought we were intrepid bandits or something childish like that.

Quietly I left the line of people and made my way into the wooded area that surrounded the building. Walking in a long arc to avoid being seen, I approached the rear of the building which was thankfully unguarded. I picked up an old stick lying on the ground and quietly jammed it into the small crack that existed between the door and its frame. I fiddled with this arrangement a while until I managed to hit the latch that locked the door and, with a small metallic "clack," knock it off of its hook.

I slipped inside, making sure to shut the door behind me, and situated myself in the back corner behind an old armory so that my presence would not be immediately noticeable to anyone entering from the main room. The air was stifling compared to the cool winter breeze I was experiencing a moment before. A stone fireplace situated in the far end of the room provided this dry heat.

From my position against the wall I could hear the priest delivering his blessings in the next room. "... and just this past year it seemed like the summer was never warm enough to grow a proper crop, and the weather was so dry, I don't know what I'm going to do if it happens again..." A man spoke sounding nervous.

"Child, child, there is no need to fret. The holy Diva watches over us all and protects those who are faithful to her. So long as you do not let her fall from your mind, hardship will not befall you. Go now, with her blessing." The old man cooed.

A fresh wave of anger swept over me hearing these remarks. It was all a lie. _They took a scared little girl away from her family for her supposed powers just so that they could parade her image about in order to keep these people eating out of the palm of their hand._ _  
_

For a long while I listened, growing more and more impatient as time passed. My hand shook as it rested on the hilt of my blade, ready to grab the deadly weapon at a moments notice. It took a large part of my will power to resist the urge to charge through the door and gut the old bastard where he stood. Finally I heard the priest speak in a much more commanding tone. "Tell the rest of them off for now, I must retire to my quarters for a rest."

The armored clunks of the Daevic guard's footsteps faded from the building. I heard my query approaching from the other side of the wall. _This is it_. Slowly the interior door opened as the aged man dressed in white and black entered. For a moment I sat and watched, biding my time. The priest sat down on a stool in front of a table with a mirror, removing his headdress as he did. Slowly I approached from behind.

My fingers curled around the hilt of my blade beneath my coat, ready to draw in an instant. Though rage fueled me I could not keep the horror of what I was about to do from chilling me to the bone. I was about to cross the final distance when the priest looked up and saw me in the mirror. With a start and a small yelp he spun around to face me. I froze. The mans face formed a nervous smile. "Goodness, child, you scared me! If you wish to receive a blessing then you'll need to wait out fro-" In a flash I drew my sword and trained the point at his face. He gave another yelp.

"Quiet!" I hissed. "If you make a sound I'll run you through." I attempted to make my voice as intimidating as possible though I did not wish to alert his guardians. I fought to keep myself from trembling. "Now," I continued, "You're a man of status in the Clergy. What did you do with her?"

The priest stared at me for a moment, his eyes cast a fearful look about before he managed to get out an "E-Excuse me?"

"Rin! What did you do with Rin!" Despite my best efforts my voice shook though I'm not sure whether overwhelming fear or anger controlled it.

The man regained some of his composure and fixed me with a much more menacing star. "Rin? I know not of who you speak, boy but surely you must know the folly of what-"

"Shut up!" I snapped, twisting the blade and drove the point closer to his face which caused him to draw back a ways. "You took her and made her your idol or whatever! The Diva! Your puppet deity! Whatever you call her! What did you do with her!" I demanded.

My intimidation did not have the desired effect as the priest's face contorted into a sort of twisted smile with his stained teeth. "Why, you would have to ask the high priestess that, boy." His voice sounded far more confident. It was unnerving to say the least. "Now, I know not who you are or what you want with the Diva but I assure you, what you're doing right now is likely the most foolish thing you've done in your short life."

I glared at him and again thrust my blade at his face. He did not flinch this time. "You intend to kill me? You are no warrior. Just a scared kid with his father's sword. You couldn't do it if you wanted to. You obviously have some qualm with the Clergy. So be it. Know that you declare yourself the enemy of the most powerful organization in the world. Yes, we have your 'Rin' or whatever you called her, though someone with a death wish such as yourself has no right to mention her as anything other than the holy Diva. She is the most important girl in the world! The center of all the hopes, fears, and admiration of the people across this land!" He mocked me.

"SHUT UP!" Yet despite my words I could not move. I could not deliver the thrust that would end that despicable man's life. Despite my fury, my mind held my hand at-bay. For a long time I sat there glaring at the man with my sword now pointed at his throat. The priest just sat there, an almost amused look in his eye.

Finally a strong knock on the door broke the silence. "Your eminence, the people are beginning to grow restless again." My heart stopped. The priest continued to give me his twisted smile. If I was going to follow through with it -if I was going to satisfy my need for vengeance- I needed to act then. For a fleeting moment, one final spark of anger passed through me, yet I was frozen. Despite my absolute hatred toward the man in front of me I could not bring myself to kill the bastard.

"Sir! They're waiting!" another knock as the doorknob rattled. I fled.

The cold air stung my lungs as I half ran, half stumbled away from the building. The rage that had fueled me up to that point was gone, replaced by a new and far more primal emotion: fear. Wave upon wave of terror swept over me as I ran. I had to escape, somehow. The Daevic guards would be after me soon and if they caught me...

Death. That's what awaited me if I was found. What I had just done, what I had just attempted, was assassination. Tantamount to treason against the Clergy. If they were merciful my execution would be swift. I had, however, heard tales of the Clergy's less pleasant method of dealing with criminals of such magnitude. The thought of such things further fueled the fear within me.

How could I have been so stupid? What did I think I was going to accomplish? They were right: the priest and the voice from my dreams. I was nothing more then a lost, scared little kid with a sword. I was toying with powers far greater than myself. Seventeen years old and I thought to challenge the largest and most powerful organization in all the land. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

The trees flew by me. I ran until I was out of breath and finally collapsed against the trunk of a large oak. My chest heaved as my lungs tried to keep up with the rest of me. The late afternoon sun glared at me from overhead, it's blinding light offering me little comfort.

I slumped against the tree and sank down into a sitting position, dropping my sword, which I only then realized I was still gripping, into the snow. I hung my head as I hugged my knees and there, alone sitting in the cold snow in the woods that bordered my village I began to cry. I know not whether it was out of self pity or fear, yet the tears came, melting the snow beneath me with their warmth. It was over. Even if I ran now, I was a marked man. They would hunt me to the ends of the earth.

I would never see them again. Images flashed though my mind of the people in my village. The people I had grown up with. By tonight I would have to consider them my enemies. Whatever compassion they held within their hearts would likely be trumped by whatever dogma the Clergy had fed to them over the years. They would sooner turn me in to the Daevic guards then risk both punishment from the Clergy and the misfortune that was said to fall upon those who defied the will of the Diva and her keepers.

My mother. She would be crushed no doubt. I had essentially just committed suicide even if my body had not yet caught up to the fact. I would never sleep in my bed, feel her warmth by my side, eat her food, see her smile. It would all be taken from me, replaced by cold dungeon walls or the hangman's noose.

I sat there, reduced to such a state, and wallowed in my misery. Thoughts came and went, melting into a useless mess within my head until a single person was left within my mind. Rin. I had failed her with my inability to act. In the end I was powerless against the might of the Clergy just as my mother had been all those years ago. Rather than add to my sorrow, however, that one thought stuck.

I began to recall the things my mother had revealed to me that morning. I was somebody's brother. The concept was new to me yet it felt warm somehow; comfortable. There was another piece of me out there in the world somewhere.

"This way, men!" A faint shout echoed through the trees.

What would Rin have thought had she seen me at that moment? Some brother I turned out to be. Despite this, however, I couldn't help but smile. Even as my doom approached through the woods, thoughts of my sister warmed my heart. Perhaps there was something to this Diva business after all.

My legs planted themselves in the ground and forced me to rise. My back brushed against the rough bark of the tree as I used my sword to steady myself. The clatter of armor now made its way to my ears yet it seemed to be naught but a slight annoyance.

Though I had never met the girl I now called my sister in person, I could picture her looking down at me in the snow with disgust. What was I doing? Sitting here drowning in self-pity. I had vowed vengeance hadn't I? I needed to save her didn't I? A fire again grew within me, not of rage, but of hope. I hoped for myself, I hoped for Rin.

Images of my sister's battered form again danced through my mind yet they only fed my now returning strength. This was the meaning of my dreams. If there was such a thing as destiny then I had just found mine.

I could hear the Daevic guards. They were maybe a hundred meters away maybe. I could still run. I gripped the hilt of my blade tightly and once again dashed off into the trees. It would take much more than a few Daevic guards to stop me. I would find Rin and free her from whatever captors held her. If the world burned due to the loss of their precious Diva so be it. She was out there, waiting for me to rescue her. Brothers are supposed to protect their sisters after all.

* * *

The rough wooden siding of the house bit into my skin through my jacket as I roughly pressed myself against it. I paused, just for a moment, to catch my breath as it formed small clouds in the air. When the burning in my lungs had subsided somewhat I ventured a quick glance around the corner of the building.

There they were, the people I had grown up with. The people I had spent my entire life with. The villagers went about their daily lives unaware of my presence for now. The fire in my heart told me, however, that I could not look upon these people as anything more than enemies. It was likely they were all too far gone, to indoctrinated by the Clergy to offer me anything. Once the Daevic guards returned here they would surely inform the masses of my actions. Once that happened, the people would turn against me, sending me to my doom rather than suffering the ill-will of the Clergy and all of it's divine power.

Another cursory glance around the corner and I was off, sprinting to the dubious cover the next house in the row offered. Though it was broad daylight many of the residents of my village were otherwise occupied with their jobs allowing me to sneak from house to house without detection.

Slowly I crept along the backside of the house. My home was at the end of this row of houses, if I could just make it there unseen I could gather some supplies and be off before the Daevic guards even returned. I just hoped that my path out of the woods had not been too obvious. I had made sure to double back on myself several times, stepping in my own footprints to disguise the trick or hopping on exposed roots above the snow when I could. With luck, the soldiers wouldn't even realize I had returned to the village yet.

I took another step forward when suddenly the wall in front of me seemed to burst open in a flurry of wood and... cloth. As the woman who apparently had decided it was time to air out her laundry hung some garments above her now opened windowsill my heart pounded in my chest. I tried my best to flatten myself against the wall, one hand covering my mouth to stifle my breathing while the other gripped my scabbard to prevent it from making a sound were I to move.

For an eternally long moment the woman worked before, with an an apparent huff of satisfaction, she closed the shutter and the window and returned inside. I stood, still stiff against the cold wood, as fear left and my mind again returned to a functioning state. I inhaled without realizing I had been holding my breath in the first place. I was off again

* * *

My house was dark save for the slivers of light that made their way through slits in the wooden shutters. Cautiously I closed the door behind me with a small click. I made my way over to my door and marched through it, the ever present knowledge that my time to prepare for the journey ahead was limited constantly making itself known. I would need a traveling pack: food, water, and basic supplies. I figured I would be able to survive at least one night in the woods. After that I could only hope to parallel the main road out of town, subsisting off of what I could find from the various travelers inns along the path. With luck I could out-pace the news of my "treachery" at least until I could find a good place to lay low for a while.

I was surprised, however, to find my mother sitting alone in the dark upon my bed. My sudden entrance seemed to give her a start and she looked up at me, her eyes damp with tears. For a moment we stared at each other, her eyes filled with sorrow and mine with determination. Finally I moved to the small shelf that constituted my wardrobe, pulling a small draw-string sack from it and stuffing it with a few articles of clothing.

"I'm going to find her," I said, not looking up from my bag. "I'm going to bring her back to us, whatever it takes." My mother was silent. Her gaze again returned to something in her hand though I payed it little attention. "I'll walk East toward the capitol and start there." I had moved into our kitchen when a knock at the door froze me in my tracks.

"Lilly!" came the muffled call from behind the front door "Lilly, open up! The Daevic guards, they're looking for Len! They said he did something terrible!" I could only sit there petrified. Was this really all it would take to undo me? I ventured a glance at my mother who fixed me with a stare which seemed to last forever.

"I haven't seen him yet today." She called to the door. Some color seemed to return to her face. "I... I'll be out in a minute!"

"Well you best hurry, the guards are on their way right now." The crunch of boots upon snow followed as my mothers friend walked off.

"Len." my mother called softly. I unfroze and looked over at her. "Come here."

Slowly I walked over to her and knelt beside her. She was still trembling though life had returned to her somewhat. My mother gave a meek laugh before continuing. "I think I always knew a day like this would come. You never really fit in the framework that defines all the other villagers, Len. You're special. You're special to me and, were he here, I'm sure you would be special to your father just the same. You'll do great things Len. You'll shape the world if you need to, I'm sure of it. Just remember though, I love you. I always will. Now, go on, get your things ready. You don't have much time.

Tears threatened to well up in my eyes for a second time that day at my mothers reassurance. With a silent thank you I returned to the task at hand, securing some basic supplies in a small sack. As I pulled the draw-string my mother came up to me and pressed something into my hand. I looked at her quizzically before peering at the small black object. A tiny obsidian bass clef tied with a short loop of string. The black stone gleamed even in the dim light of the room.

"Rin, she has one similar to this. They were a gift from your father. He said in the letter they came with that he had found them in the north. Treasure it, please."

It was too much for me. As tears formed in my eyes I drew my mother into a final embrace. Her warmth giving me one last piece of comfort. "Mom, I _will_ find her. I promise. I'll bring her back. We will see each other again so please, don't give up on me." My mother simply nodded and smiled.

"I know."

With those final words I turned to the back door, casting one final look at the woman who had raised me. A silent nod was all that was shared between us as I stepped out into the cold evening.

I dashed for the woods, a lightness in my step. I was going to her. I was going to find her. No one, not the might of the clergy, not even the divine powers of the world could stop me.

"Wait for me, Rin." The obsidian armlet was warm in my grip.

* * *

_A boy leaves on a journey and the wheels of destiny slowly grind into life._

_

* * *

_**I really don't have a single excuse as to why this, which was about 70% done when I finished the last chapter, took five months. Pretty much I was lazy for a month and then real life stuff happened and, as a result, I didn't feel like writing anything at all for 2-3 months, and then I was lazy again and classes started again. Sorry.**

**Naming Ms. Kagamine "Lilly" comes from tvtropes which insisted that the twin's mother in Synchronicity looked like her which I don't disagree with. Yeah.**

** I don't know how long the next chapter will take (assuming I ever do it) though from here on I actually know what I want to do with this story while this two chapter flashback was spur of the moment as it were and thus much more prone to writers block. I also want to write some one shot type things because those are fun so I'll probably do that in between. Either way. Thank you to everyone who has read this thus far and especially thank you to the lovely reviewers. As much as I don't like to admit it because it sounds bad on my part, you guys are pretty much what keeps me going because it's a huge ego boost. As always sorry for any glaring grammatical error or whatever that I missed.  
**

**Oh, and as a random note, I hope you guys like Gumi because she's going to play a pretty important role in that whole sub-arc thing I mentioned in a previous A/N.**


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